


Influence

by Xekstrin



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 07:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13852989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xekstrin/pseuds/Xekstrin
Summary: She'd broken countless Akuma with her Miraculous power. There was nothing that didn't bend to her touch. And there was a small part of her that was pleased with the fact that even Chloé, even headstrong Chloé, would also break for her.





	Influence

 

The hunt for this Akuma lasted two months. Two months for her, at least; in between frozen time, and waiting, and stalking, and hunting, and pouncing, only three real days had passed. Hands of Time, he called himself, and Ladybug didn't know how to stop him.

Only the Akuma himself and the other Miraculous users were unaffected by the pauses. There were precious few places to hide in between their transformations, and once they were out of costume they become slow, sluggish, lethargic. After a recharge, it was back into the suit, or risk being frozen-- forever.

Occasionally over the past two months, in between the freezings, Ladybug discovered that anything she happened to be touching at the time would remain in motion with her. Sometimes it was helpful; right now she had Chloé under her care and she didn't want the girl to die.

Well... she probably didn't want her to die.

"I don't see why I can't go back to my house," Chloé huffed, brushing her hair in front of a borrowed mirror. They were hiding in someone else's home, thankfully empty. Ladybug and Cat had spent enough nights in a house full of eerie, silent statues to last a lifetime.

Ladybug looked outside, leaning against the windowsill. The rain was unfortunate. It hung suspended, midair, and her keen eyes could track the trail she and Chloé had walked through it. Would Hands of Time find them too? "Lower your voice, Chloe," she said under her breath, mentally mapping out all the escape routes. This hunt went two ways, and she knew the Hands were out there somewhere. Tracking her.

If they had to leave suddenly. Where would they go? Through the window? Out the back door?

Ladybug let out a shivering breath.

"Quiet-- this place is too quiet. If I have to stay quiet another day I'll go mad." Chloé set the brush down with a snarl. The clack of wood against wood made Ladybug flinch; it sounded too much like the strange heeled shoes Hands of Time wore. "I really think I'm losing it. Can't we offer him a deal?"

Rounding on her, Ladybug strode over to where Chloé sat at the vanity. Setting a palm down on the surface, she leaned closer to her. Exhaustion made her blunt, no inflection at all.

"Chloé," she said, "If you aren't quiet I will make you be quiet. Do you understand?"

She wished she didn't enjoy the flash of fear that lanced through Chloé's eyes. She saw it so rarely as Marinette; she'd never done anything to warrant it as Ladybug, and was pleased to see how easy it really was.

"...Fine," Chloé said, voice clipped, then went and curled up on the bed. "But I'll make you regret speaking to me like that."

Some part of her was glad Chloé never gave Ladybug preferential treatment. Everyone who knew her had a different face for Ladybug and a different one for Marinette, but Chloe was just as abrasive to both. "Oh yeah?" Ladybug pressed. "How will you do that?"

Chloé's shoulders stiffened. "Well for your information, Ladybug, my.... My girlfriend's best friend runs the Ladyblog. So how's that for bad publicity? Once this is over you are soooo gonna get blasted all over the internet and no one will ever listen to your dumb face ever again."

That caught her off guard, just long enough for Chloé to turn in bed and smirk at her, unbearably smug.

"You don't have a girlfriend," Ladybug said before she realized there was no way she could know that--- though Marinette certainly did.

Chloé froze. Then she sat up, holding the pillow to her chest. "I do! Her name is--" A moment of struggle. "--Marinette! And her best friend is Alya and I'm sure you know who your biggest fan is." She sneered at the words like they were an insult.

Maintaining the ruse was getting harder by the day. She was exhausted, always on the move from the Hands as she tried to keep Cat and Chloé both safe. Having Chloé so close to her for so long contributed to it, especially because at first Chloe had treated it like a special gift.

She pressed herself to Ladybug's side, clung to her arm, kissed her cheek as often as she could. And it was distracting, it was terribly distracting and it had no right to be.

Arms crossed, Ladybug decided to tease her a little more. As long as they kept their voices down, it should be fine. "Chloé. Do you have a crush on your classmate Marinette?"

"How do you--" she started, then stopped with a sigh. "...I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You know everything, don't you?"

Ladybug shrugged, sitting down next to Chloé. The other girl looked ready to sulk for the rest of the night, but then she blurted out.

"I don't like her as much as I like you." Chloé's eyes darted from side to side; she squirmed under Ladybug's impassive gaze. "I guess I just said that because I... I hoped it would make you jealous," she finished on a tired note, looking deflated.

A little touched despite herself, Ladybug reached out to cup her face. It was meant to be a comforting gesture; she'd done it before. But instead, all it did was make Chloé visibly shudder, her eyelids clenching shut.

Everyone treated her differently when she was Ladybug. Everyone except Chloé... or so she thought.

Fascinated, Ladybug scooted a little closer, petting her over her soft golden hair. That was something she'd wanted to do for a long time, but the other girl never let anyone touch it, not even her only real friend. Ladybug could see her tense up, prepare to lash out and scold her, but instead Chloé bit her tongue.

She'd broken countless Akuma with her Miraculous power. There was nothing that didn't bend to her touch. And there was a small part of her that was pleased with the fact that even Chloé, even headstrong Chloé, would also break for her.


End file.
